Category: Q&A

New website from the NH Dept. of Revenue Administration

Ora LeMere, Assistant Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (NHDRA), spoke about the Department’s new website, unveiled this summer, that is designed to be easier to use, will be more responsive to Granite State taxpayers, and will optimize access to its Granite Tax Connect portal, which enables taxpayers, tax professionals and other NHDRA customers to manage their accounts, according to a press release. Visit revenue.nh.gov.

Can you give a brief overview of what the NHDRA is and does?

The Department of Revenue Administration is the taxing agency for our great state of New Hampshire and we are responsible for administering the tax laws that drive the revenue…. Generally speaking, we have divisions that make up the DRA. We have the admin unit, that would be myself, the assistant commissioner, and the commissioner, Lindsey Stepp, at the head of that. We have an Audit Division, a Collections Division, Municipal Property Division and lastly a Taxpayer Services Division, each having different functions to make sure that we fairly and efficiently administer those tax laws to our constituents.

With no sales tax or income tax in the state, what taxes do people in New Hampshire need to pay?

The most focused, if you will, are business taxes, which include the Business Enterprise Tax as well as Business Profits Tax. We have the Meals and Rooms Tax, we have the property taxes and we have the Interest and Dividends Tax, which I’m sure you’ve heard is phasing out. I think those are the majority of our taxes. We do have transparency on our website that gives information into each of our individual taxes, that also includes Tobacco, Communication Services, some smaller taxes….

What do these taxes fund in New Hampshire?

The taxes generally bring in around $2.9 billion in revenue each year and that is divided up and it is appropriated to different agencies to fund many different things. Funding can include the Department of Safety. Road Toll [Bureau] has a tax that they also administer. There are a few other taxes that we don’t administer but it all, for the most part, goes into funds … so we can fund the main functions of our state…. We fund 80 percent of the General Fund.

What types of feedback led to the website updates?

We have had overwhelmingly positive feedback since we went live. The DRA put in enormous effort to get this off of the ground in-house. We did not contract with an outside vendor. We chose to use the expertise in-house to get it off the ground. We were super proud of it. There is a webmaster link at the bottom that we all monitor constantly and the feedback that we’re getting is exceptional.

Would you like to expand on the updates you all are most proud of?

We had a taxpayers’ services section added right to the home page … It explains what a tax notice is or who to contact. It links to other agencies in the state that may be helpful or a taxpayer may need to visit in doing business in this state. The taxpayer assistance site has information about what forms to use, the laws and rules, tax fraud, it’s probably one of the most utilized pages on our site. We also made sure that our smaller businesses, mostly restaurants and hotels or short-term rental types of taxpayers, had their own page as our Meals and Rooms Operators. This page has a plethora of information and has links that help an operator know what they need to do, how to get to our portal to file or to apply for a license. … we try to make it customer-centric, taxpayer centric, and give them areas in which to visit where they wouldn’t need to click all around the site to find certain information that was pertinent.

Why is it important to have a tax website focused toward the needs of taxpayers?

I mean, plainly stated, taxes can be confusing. It’s really important that not only we administer those tax laws fairly and efficiently but we do so in a friendly and supportive manner…. the support that we try to provide for our constituents is ready and available at all times.

—Zachary Lewis

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Operations Manager for Darbster Rescue

Andrew Doyle is the Operations Manager for Darbster Rescue of New Hampshire, an organization committed to finding homes and families for cats and dogs. Visit darbsterfoundation.com.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I help keep the three adoption centers we have running on a daily basis. The three locations we have are Darbster Kitty on Kelley Street, Darbster Doggy in Chichester, and Darbster Rescue at the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester.

How long have you had this job?

I started in 2021 so about three years now.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

Up until working here full-time, I’d always volunteered with different shelters and animal organizations. Started with, as a kid, a local cat shelter in Massachusetts. After college, started working with the Manchester Animal Shelter for a couple of years, worked at Joppa Hill Educational Farm for a little bit and after 2020 and the pandemic I wanted to do a pivot from my career … [I] found a posting and it worked out.

What kind of education or training did you need?

I came here with a traditional college background. I have a B.S. in sports studies and I got my MBA from SNHU. When I came here it was a lot of on-the-job training, doing other certification courses, just to stay experienced. We have all of our staff certified in Fear Free, which is an organization that helps volunteers and staff at rescues and shelters work with animals to make sure that they have a stress-free experience and help them understand body language and help facilitate healthy lifestyles for them …

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Something comfortable that you can move around in that still looks semi-professional. … I’m usually wearing like khakis and/or jeans, a polo or a Darbster T-shirt or a hoodie and comfortable shoes or boots.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

I think the most challenging thing is helping those dogs and cats that need a little extra support and helping them through things. Sometimes it’s medical, sometimes it’s behavioral. …

What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

It would be good to know that it’s not a straight path from start to finish.

What was your first job?

I was a busser at a breakfast restaurant in … New Hampshire called Joey’s Diner.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Do the thing nobody wants to do. It’s usually the hardest or maybe it’s the most boring, but it’s something that needs to get done. It helps everybody out….

—Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Favorite movie: The Big Lebowski
Favorite music: My favorite band is Wilco. I’ve seen them about 17 times.
Favorite food: Buffalo chicken
Favorite thing about NH: You’re an hour away from anything, whether it’s the mountains, lake, ocean, Boston. You can get anywhere in an hour.

Featured photo: Andrew Doyle. Courtesy photo.

The League of NH Craftsmen holds its nine-day fair

The 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair is put on by The League of NH Craftsmen. The nine-day fair runs from Saturday, Aug. 3, to Sunday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, rain or shine, at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury. Kids 16 and under are free. Miriam Carter, Executive Director of The League of NH Craftsmen, gives a sample of what attendees can expect at this celebration of all things craft. Visit nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair for a full list of booths, vendors, activities, demonstrations, food and more.

How did the Fair get started?

We’re in our 91st year and the Fair got started as an aspect of the League coming together which is 92 years old and it was a way to advance craft and support the makers of craft. It goes back to our roots, to 1932 when we were established. Governor Winant helped establish the League by recognizing that after the Depression there were people in the state that had wonderful abilities to make craft and artisan products. A way to have them benefit from the sale of those items was key to creating the League of NH Craftsmen. The first Fairs actually happened in little towns throughout New Hampshire. Then, in 1964, the Fair came to the state park here at Mount Sunapee Resort and it has been there for the last 60 years … we’re celebrating that as well this year…. We’re the oldest outdoor craft fair in the country.

Can you give a brief overview of one of the demonstrations at the Fair?

The Fair is an opportunity to come and see how craft is made and we do that through a variety of demonstrations that are both hands-on for the guests that come to see us, and guests of all ages can participate, as well as the ability to observe how someone is making their work. So we have Jeffrey Gale who’s going to be here demonstrating how baskets are made. He’ll literally be working with the raw wood to create strips that then get put into a basket. There’s a Pottery Tent where people can jump in, of all ages, and learn how to sit at a wheel and turn a clay object or build something by hand.

How many different artists and or vendors are going to be there over the course of the Fair?

We have over 300 juried members participating in this event. About 200 juried members are in booths selling their own work and that gives people the opportunity to meet the maker and to learn how their work is made. Then we have artisanal vendors who are selling food as well as all the demonstrators who actually, some of them will be selling their own work in their booths. We have two venues that are really special to this event which is the Art, Craft & Design Tent. It’s an opportunity for people to bring their best work forward to be considered for jurying. It’s kind of like a gallery in the middle of the basin of a mountain. It’s quite extraordinary and quite beautiful. Then we also shop at the Fair, it’s called the Shop at the Fair, and that’s a collaborative effort of people who aren’t in booths who want to be a part of the fair so they have this space where they can sell their work here at the fair but not have to be at a nine-day booth…. There’s also a Sculpture Garden. That’s a specific area for people who have garden art that they like to bring to Fair to sell. Their work is displayed there.

What are the fine art exhibitions?

Years ago, the league actually had Fine Art as part of our categories of the organization. The New Hampshire Art Association actually is a spin-off of the League of NH Craftsmen. So we used to be the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts and then we just went to ‘Crafts’ so they are here as well. We invite them to come and bring their members and they have a tent. We, over the years, have done … new things. One is that we invite guests who are not members of the League’s jury system to participate and there are two categories. One is, invite a guest who crafts in areas that we don’t represent, so we have about 34 exhibitors that are not juried members but invited guests and are craftsmen. Then we also have now invited guests who are Fine Artists who are bringing their beautiful paintings and drawings to be part of the event. The purpose of doing that is across the country there are a lot of fine art and craft shows that have this model because you’re attracting a wide range of people and their level of appreciation in both categories.

What is one sort of activity for kids at the Fair?

There’s an entire Kids Create! area, which we’re really proud about because we’re trying to create pathways to the next generation to understand the importance of craft and how you can have it in your life, whether it’s through just appreciation or through a career. So in the Kids Create! tent, kids of all ages can try all different formats of handmade craft…. You can do weaving, you can do print making, you can do clay building and basically a lot of free-form craft making. There’s going to be all sorts of materials and supplies and we will have people there to assist in the process.

What sorts of entertainment and food will be at the Fair?

We’re fortunate that we partner with the New Hampshire Music Collective and they provide really talented musicians for live music at the event. We also have incredible artisanal food to buy for lunches. There’s Thai food, there’s brick oven pizza, there’s all sorts of yummy treats, ice cream. We have several food vendors. We have a Dole Whip vendor but we have a lot of great food … a beer and wine tent right on the grounds so people can enjoy a libation while they’re enjoying what we offer.

Why do you think people should come to the Fair?

I think it’s a unique opportunity to experience both the craft and the makers of craft. We have everything here and we consider this an experience, not a shopping event. We want people to come to understand creativity and what you can do with your hands. In a world where we all click online to buy something, this is the opportunity to meet the maker and to really understand how an object is made. From children to adults, it’s a great opportunity to learn about craft and how you can include it in your life. I’ve been a crafts person for well over 30 years, my house is filled with craft and every time I drink my coffee out of a cup that’s handmade by someone I purchased it from, I think of that exchange that we had and I think about the story that maker told me about why they make things and how they make things, and that just enriches my life, so I encourage people to come and learn all about this organization.

—Zachary Lewis

The 91st Annual Craftsmen’s Fair
Saturday, Aug. 3, to Sunday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, rain or shine
No dogs or pets allowed
Any day ticket: $18 (online)
Two-day pass: $28 (online)
Kids 16 and under free
Gate tickets: $20
nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair

Featured image: Courtesy photo.

Nashua presents a new downtown event

Kathleen Palmer, Communications & Events Specialist for the Office of the Mayor in Nashua, spoke about the Summer Stroll in Nashua scheduled for Saturday, July 27, from 3 to 8 p.m. The event is presented in partnership with Positive Street Art and funded by local sponsors. A two-block section of Main Street will be closed off from 2 to 9 p.m. Check out Nashua Summer Stroll on Facebook.

How did the Summer Stroll get started?

Great American Downtown has manned, if you will, a winter holiday stroll for over 20 years now. One of the kind of half-jokes that people make after the event is ‘boy, I wish we had a summer one,’ because it would be, you know, better weather. The City of Nashua has a new director of economic development. Her name is Liz Hannum and she proposed last summer, ‘Well, why don’t we look into creating a city-run summer stroll component?’ A similar but different event. That’s what we are doing … to see if people are interested in coming down and walking around and checking out the offerings that we have this first year… This is a brand new event and we could not do it without the sponsorship money we received, because people do worry if this is going to be taxpayer money and it’s important for everybody to know we sought out sponsors.

How has the partnership with Positive Street Art affected the event?

The city partnered with Positive Street Art, which is a decade-long nonprofit here based in Nashua who does public art as well as classes and all sorts of art-related programming. About more than a decade ago they used to have an art festival on Water Street at Renaissance Park. However, this summer Renaissance Park is getting a beautiful and exciting overhaul in the riverfront project that Mayor Donchess has initiated, so the park is unavailable to lots of programming that used to happen there. So Positive Street Art asked if they could partner with us and make the Nashua Summer Stroll an event that’s focused on artists and local creators of different kinds.

What kinds of vendors will be at the Summer Stroll?

The majority of the vendors that will be having tents on Main Street will be artists, photographers, jewelry makers, crafters as well as home decor. I believe there’s a home baker that will be there.

What types of activities can participants expect to find?

Positive Street Art will have a lot of things going on. They will have live art battles where they have artists set up easels and they give them 90 minutes to create something and it’s really, actually very exciting to watch. They have a car that was donated by Best Ford of Nashua and painted for free by Precision Collision with this chalk paint so kids can draw on the car and kind of make it into a little standing art exhibit if you will. Positive Street Art is also doing a mural project that everyone can participate in. I believe it’s going to be cut-outs of hands and you can decorate them and then PSA will assemble them…. They’re going to have a paint splatter tent, which, I’m not exactly sure what that is but it’s a self-enclosed paint fun event for kids to do. There’s a whole bunch of art stuff…. We’re going to have a whole kids zone, which we’re spelling ‘kidzone’ all shoved together. We’re going to have a mobile gaming van. … It’s basically a giant van that has TV screens in it and kids can go in and play 20 minutes a game if they want to get out of the sun. There’s going to be other games, basketball, games of skill where they can get little prizes. There’s going to be several food trucks.

What type of live entertainment?

For entertainment, the City Main Stage is getting dropped right in the street at the intersection of the Pearls … and that’s going to have three live bands throughout the day. The first one is Latin Logic Salsa Band. Before and during their performance we have hired Theo Martinez from HTM Dance to teach people free little dance moves so they can have fun watching the band and they can do a little dancing in the street. The other two bands are classic rock bands with huge local followings…. Aces and Eights is the name of the band and they’ve been around for decades. The other band is called 4 R Souls. After the live music is done at 8, PSA has rented out the upstairs and the downstairs of Martha’s to have a DJ dance party, so the music is going to go on inside after that. So there’s stuff for pretty much every age group at the event and we’re hoping people will at least stop by and check everything out.

Where is the Nashua Summer Stroll?

The footprint of the event is from East and West Pearl to the intersection of Factory and Temple, so two blocks of Main Street and the two blocks of Main Street includes High Street, which is the street that Scontsas Jewelry is on, the corner of on Main Street, and that piece of High Street is going to be the kidzone.

—Zachary Lewis

Nashua Summer Stroll
When: Saturday, July 27, from 3 to 8 p.m.
Where: Nashua’s Main Street between East and West Pearl and Factory and Temple. Road will be closed from 2 to 9 p.m.
Admission: free
What About Your Friends – Throwback Party
Presented by Positive Street Art and One 603 Entertainment on Saturday, July 27, 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at 185 Main St., Nashua; $25 with other ticket packages available; shorturl.at/R66gV.

Featured image: Nashua Summer Stroll.